


The Gathering Storm

by vix_spes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, M/M, Mpreg, Out of Character, Slash sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-13
Updated: 2009-08-13
Packaged: 2018-09-26 12:41:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9896921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: What if James and Lily didn't die at the hands of Voldemort? What if they returned when Harry had established a new family for himself including a husband and children of his own. Would they destroy everything he had longed for?





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HP Fandom](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HP_Fandom_\(archive\)), which was closed for health and financial reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HP Fandom collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hpfandom/profile).

**Disclaimer: Ok guys, I think you know the drill by now. I don’t own any of the character’s in this that are remotely recognisable. The only things that belong to me are the plot and the character’s that you don’t recognise.**

Authors Note: A couple of months ago I posted a story called Love Is Stronger Than Blood, a Snarry one-shot in which James and Lily aren’t dead and return to Hogwarts. At the time, several reviewers asked that I continue it or write a sequel. The reason that I didn’t was that I was also working on this at the same time. This is kind of along the same lines but a chaptered fic and goes into more detail, as such there are going to be some similarities between the two. I hope that you enjoy it and so…… please read and review! Oh, and I am looking for a(nother) beta for this – if you’re interested drop me a line. Belle

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

Ten years ago....

Harry waited with bated breath and with his eyes clenched shut, clinging to the hand of his lover as he waited for his parent’s response. At just sixteen years old and half-way through the first year of his Newts he was more than aware that his parents weren’t expecting him to bring home a lover who was twenty years older than him and still one of his teachers but he was praying for some leniency. Yes, Harry Potter was in love with, and dating, Severus Snape, Potions Master, Spymaster and Head of Slytherin House. The Slytherin had taught and trained Harry in order to defeat the Dark Lord and somewhere along the line he had fallen in love with the green-eyed student. At the same time, much to his disbelief Harry had also fallen in love with his teacher. Despite the mutual attraction and confessions, the two had withheld starting a proper relationship, both physical and emotional until Harry had turned sixteen and was officially ‘legal’. Despite all of the other accusations that had been hurled at him over his years, Severus refused to be branded as a paedophile and accused of corrupting the Boy-Who-Lived. That landmark date had been four months ago, the same night that Harry defeated Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries and the two of them had never looked back. They had waited this long to tell Harry’s parents because they wanted to see if things were actually going to work out between them. When it had turned out that things were working between them and that they intended to be in this for the long haul then they had made the decision to tell Harry’s parents. Talking of Harry’s parents they still hadn’t said anything and they were both starting to get rather anxious when the tension was broken by a crash from behind the closed kitchen door. It would appear that they had not only confessed to Harry’s mum and dad, they had also confessed to his six incredibly over-protective hot-tempered brothers and one infatuated little sister.

_***Flashback***_

_Harry sat quietly in the corner of the Headmaster’s office as he was argued over by the majority of the Order of the Phoenix. It was days before his fifteenth birthday and he had been rescued almost a week ago by Tonks and Moody after the Order had realised that things hadn’t been ideal for him and had rescued him from Privet Drive. However, since his arrival and his treatment by Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape, everyone had been arguing about what should be done with him. Several people had argued that he should be sent back to the Dursley’s albeit with some extra protection. As much as he wanted to, and as much as the animagus had argued for it, he hadn’t been able to go and live with Sirius and Remus at Grimmauld Place. Apparently, an ex-convict godfather living in a pure-blood manor house under the Fidelius charm with a werewolf ex-professor as his lover wasn’t satisfactory for the Ministry. They also knew that the Ministry, if they found out, would insist that he was returned to the Dursley’s until he was of age. Thankfully, that option had been erased as of last night, if Harry’s vision and the burning summons of Severus’ Dark Mark was anything to go by. Voldemort had finally realised that the blood he had forcibly taken from Harry in the graveyard during the Fourth task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament and last night had simply walked through the blood wards surrounding number 4 Privet Drive and massacred the Dursley’s in their beds. As awful as it was though, Harry couldn’t bring himself to feel any regret for their loss._

_He was currently curled up and sandwiched in between his official godfather and his unofficial godfather (and official godfather’s lover), relishing in the comfort that the two were willingly offering. It was things like this that he missed the most when he was at the Dursley’s; affection freely given just because he was Harry. He had nearly fallen asleep when the floo network activated and Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks and Alastor Moody floo-ed in from the Ministry. They had confirmed that the Dursley’s were dead and that a new guardian for Harry needed to be found and made official incredibly quickly as Fudge was manoeuvring to have Harry made a ward of the Ministry. Harry looked up as he heard someone speaking up and saying that they would happily take Harry in and not only become his guardians, but that they would adopt him and willingly take him into their family as another son. He looked up in amazement to see that it was Arthur Weasley who had spoken, Molly nodding furiously behind him. In a daze, he had nodded when they asked if he was willing to accept the adoption (although only after Sirius had agreed and the Weasley’s had insisted that Sirius would remain his godfather and that they would be adding Remus as well) and bemusedly sat and listened as people sprang into action to process the adoption as quickly as possible._

_One blood ritual and two days later he had received the official paperwork saying that although his surname remained the same, he was now the legal son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, youngest of seven brothers and the youngest big brother to Ginevra Weasley, legal godson of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin-Black. He finally had what he had always wanted; a family._

_***End Flashback***_

Harry gulped as he saw his brothers tumble into the room even as Ginny let out a great heaving sob and ran up the stairs. With it being Halloween, the Weasley’s still at Hogwarts had been allowed to come home for the weekend and when this had been announced the five eldest Weasley brothers had announced that they would returning to the Burrow for the weekend along with various and assorted girlfriends. With the whole family there Harry had, for some unknown reason, decided that it was a good idea to tell his family about Severus. He had decided to tell everybody before they ate dinner and was starting to wonder whether it was a good idea to say anything at all. The silence was beginning to get to him and he tensed, preparing himself for the diatribe that was surely heading his way. As Severus felt him tense he released his grip on Harry’s hand and pulled him securely into his side, arm wrapped around his shoulders. 

His jaw dropped as he heard a loud squeal and was wrapped in a smothering embrace as the air was rapidly forced out of his lungs. 

“Mum? Can you let go of me please? I can’t breathe.” Harry gasped for breath as soon as he was released only to hear Severus grunt both in surprise and as the air left his lungs as Molly swept him into a hug. The black eyes were wide with shock, causing the older Weasley boys to grin at his predicament.

He met his Dad’s gaze and the mild-mannered patriarch just smiled sympathetically. “Molly dear, I think Severus is rapidly running out of oxygen and I think Harry would like an explanation. Boys, apparently you were intending on listening in on this conversation anyway, so you might as well come in and have a part in this conversation.”

Harry sat down at the kitchen table, Severus next to him, equally as non-plussed with Molly and Arthur just to the left of him and the Weasley brothers taking seats and perches wherever they could around the room. 

“You seem to be taking all of this incredibly well.” Severus observed. “None of you seem to be particularly surprised either.”

Ron snorted. “Mate, we share a dorm. You can’t control whose name you call out behind the curtains. We thought Nev was going to have a bloody heart-attack the first time he heard you.” 

Harry blushed a bright cherry red as all of the brothers started chuckling at this comment. He quickly caught on and realised just why they hadn’t appeared surprised. “Let me guess, you had great fun telling this lot. Thanks a lot Ron.”

The red-head grinned unrepentantly. “This lot will tell you exactly the same thing. That’s the job of an older brother. I’m sorry to say that you’re the youngest brother out of seven; that means you get six older brothers taking the piss out of you.”

Harry groaned, stuck his tongue out at his incredibly smug older siblings and turned to his parents. “You don’t seem too surprised either. How did you know, Mum? Dad?”

The two smiled at each other before Arthur spoke. “We could just tell. Like Ron said, you’re the youngest of 7 boys Harry. We may not have many hopes for the twins and Ron but we’ve seen the other three fall in love and we could just tell. The way that you spoke about Severus changed at some point last year and you always seemed to be more concerned when you knew that he had to report to Voldemort. Plus, you always asked about him after Order meetings. We’re your parents; we will always know what’s going on with our children.”

Harry smiled shyly, still seeming somewhat nervous. “You don’t mind? You really don’t mind that it’s Severus?”

Both Molly and Arthur shook their heads, Molly sending a smile to Severus as she did so. “He’s a good man Harry and he’s good for you. You seem a lot happier and you deserve that happiness. You’ve seen too many things to be happy with somebody your own age and Severus understands what you’ve been through. Besides, I don’t think that I’ve ever actually seen him smile as much when he’s with you. You’re as good for him as he is for you.”

Harry smiled, as did Severus and both thanked the Weasley’s – parents and siblings – before the whole group moved outside for the food, leaving Molly to try and console Ginny.

Severus walked up behind Harry, wrapping his arms around his waist as he pressed a kiss to his temple. “Well, we’ve told your parents, it’s just the mutts to tell now. What’s the probability that they won’t take it as well?”

Harry nodded. “You’re right. Remus will take it well but it’ll be Sirius who’s the problem. Having said that, I think there’s something going on. Remus hasn’t seemed the same the last couple of times that he’s been up to Hogsmeade to see me.”

“Something tells me that we’re not going to have to wait that long to tell them. I believe I can hear the mutt in the kitchen.”

Severus took a step back from his teenage lover as said lover’s godfathers walked out of the kitchen, both of them looking remarkably relaxed and happy. It was a sight that Harry had never thought he would see after Sirius had escaped from Azkaban. At the same time, he noticed that there was something different about Remus, he wasn’t sure what, but there was just something different. He shook it off to think about later as he headed towards the duo, flinging himself towards Remus for one of the man’s wonderful hugs only to be caught by Sirius. He swung round to look at his dark-haired godfather in confusion.

“Siri? What’s the matter, why can’t I hug Remy?”

Arms wrapped round him from behind and he looked behind him to see warm amber eyes looking down at him, lit up with something that he couldn’t recognise.

“You can hug me cub, you’re just going to have to be a little bit more careful for the next eight months or so.”

Wide emerald eyes met with laughing amber ones before switching to swirling mercury orbs for confirmation. “You’re pregnant? You’re going to have a baby?!” Harry’s voice squeaked with excitement at the end much to his mortification.

Remus nodded, his face flushed and his eyes bright with happiness as he hugged Harry tightly. “Yes, I’m pregnant. It would appear that the lore is true when it comes to soul-mates. Now that the threat of Voldemort has disappeared the wolf feels that it is safe enough to bring a cub into the world. You’re going to be a big brother. Now, what do you say to us going to see what your lover and my husband are talking about?”

Harry automatically stiffened at Remus’ words before relaxing as he was squeezed tighter. “Did you really think that you could hide it from me little one? I could smell Severus on you and other things as well.” Harry blushed at the words. “I’m happy for you cub and so is Sirius.” At Harry’s disbelieving look he carried on talking. “He’s grown up. He’s not going to do anything to Severus. After everything that you’ve seen and done there was no way that you could be happy with somebody your own age. You need somebody who understands and Severus is that person. He completes you. I don’t think that you’ve been this happy; I don’t think that we’ve seen you this happy before. Your parents would be very happy for you, especially Lily. Severus is a good man. Now, regardless of whether he’s a good man or not I think we’ve submitted him to Sirius for long enough. Come on, let’s go and rescue the both of them.”

Harry nodded happily and leaned into the arm that was slung over his shoulder as the two of them walked over to where their two dark-haired partners were standing together but looking incredibly uncomfortable. As they reached them Harry stepped into Severus’ arms and snuggled closer whilst Remus stepped into Sirius’ embrace, allowing the other man’s arms to encircle him, hands resting protectively on his stomach. Harry smiled and looked up at Severus, kissing him chastely on the lips as the older man bent his head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sirius shudder and pull a face but hold back the comment that he so obviously wanted to make and Harry got the feeling that maybe he could have his happy ending.

* * *

**In the present.....**

Harry had flourished within the Weasley family and was blissfully happy. Admittedly things were still awkward with Ginny, not just for Harry but for the rest of the family as well. She had never accepted Harry’s relationship with Severus, even after ten years and unfortunately, as the majority of her friends were her friends through Harry, Ron and Hermione and approved of his relationship, her friendships had suffered. She now had a tendency to stay away from the Burrow on family occasions unless her presence was demanded by Molly and Arthur. All of the brothers had moved away from the family home and Molly was definitely suffering from empty-nest syndrome but was somewhat mollified by the fact that everybody came home on a regular basis. It also helped that the Weasley matriarch was a proud grandmother several times over. Percy had married his Hogwarts sweetheart Penelope Clearwater as soon as he had graduated from Hogwarts and they were the proud parents of a six year old boy and a four year old girl. Fleur Delacour and Nymphadora Tonks had married the two eldest Weasley brothers and had one child each with Tonks pregnant with her and Charlie’s second child. Ron and Hermione, both of them working at the Ministry, had also married straight out of Hogwarts and had three daughters – Elizabeth, Jennifer and Katharine. The only Weasley’s not in a relationship were the twins, who were too consumed with their business to even think about finding love and Ginny, still completely and utterly obsessed with Harry to the extent that no sane man would consider dating her.

All of this brings us back to Harry, blissfully happy with his husband and three children, ensconced in the school that was his first real home, unaware that the life he currently had after dreaming of it for so long was going to be torn apart very quickly and unexpectedly.


	2. Chapter Two

Harry awoke to the now familiar sensation of kisses being pressed along his bare shoulder and a large hand moving slowly over his stomach. He smiled softly and looked back over his shoulder to see the smiling face of his husband. Moving slowly as he was feeling distinctly queasy he rolled over so that he was face to face with the man he had been married to for the last seven years and in a relationship with for ten. A shiver ran up his spine at the sound of the voice that still made his knees feel weak,

“Good morning love.”

Harry smiled and leaned up to press a kiss against the thin lips that were smiling at him. “Good morning Severus. You’re up early.”

“Mmm, I was just thinking about what I need to do today. I was planning on doing all of the potions that you need to restock the hospital wing. There aren’t that many this year. With any luck the brats are starting to behave themselves, although the stocks of anti-nausea draught seem to have diminished rapidly in the last few weeks.”

Harry hoped that his expression didn’t give away the reason for the rapid decline in the stocks. “Yes, I think there’s been a stomach bug going round or something. You know what the castle is like – it simply breeds infection. Do you need me to pick anything up from Diagon Alley? I’m going to meet Hermione and her kids for lunch remember?”

“I remember. I’ll need to check my lists but I think there are a few items in my supply cupboard that could do with refilling. I’ll write you a list. Is Mrs Granger-Weasley not back at work yet? As far as I remember she had her latest whelp some time ago.”

Harry rolled his eyes at the fact that his husband still referred to their godchild as a whelp, regardless of his easier relationship with both Ron and Hermione. “Her name’s Katharine, not whelp. And you know perfectly well that Mione gave birth to her six months ago, I delivered her remember? She’s decided that she’s going to be a stay at home mum for a couple of years. She’s been hugely successful at the Ministry already but what with Ron getting promoted again in the Auror department she doesn’t want the kids to spend all their time with other family and not their parents.”

“I suppose that’s understandable. Thankfully our little monsters are still asleep. Hopefully they’ll stay asleep for a bit longer which means we finally have some time to ourselves. If they disturb us one more time I’ll chop them up and use them in my experiments.”

Harry giggled as Severus growled the last sentence whilst pulling him closer. Any response that he tried to make was lost as Severus claimed his mouth possessively. Disregarding the thought that their children could walk in at any moment he lost himself in the sensation of his husband’s mouth against his. Even though they’d been married for seven years and together for over nine, they had lost none of the passion and lust that had been predominant when they first got together.

It was almost an hour and a half later that the two men moved from their bed having heard the tell-tale signs that their children were awake and no doubt wanting to be given their breakfast. Not wanting the children to walk in on their parents completely naked they got up and whilst Severus went in the shower, Harry pulled on sleep pants and a robe before moving into the living room where two of their three children were waiting for either him or Severus.

Harry accepted a hug from Max and scooped his twin Livia into his arms, kissing her absentmindedly on the top of her dark curls.

“Where’s Lucian? I thought I heard all three of you out here.”

“I’m here daddy. I went to get my book.” Came the clear voice of Harry and Severus’ oldest son, five year old Lucian.

“Ok love. Right, shall we get breakfast ready for when papa comes out of the shower?”

After much arguing with the house-elves, Harry had managed to negotiate a deal with them. It had taken them a while to hash out the details as the elves had been mortally offended that Harry wanted to cook for him and his family. Although he loved having the cooking and cleaning done for him after all of the years he had spent slaving for the Dursley’s, at the same time he wanted to be able to do little things like making his children breakfast or spending an afternoon baking with them without an elf hovering over his shoulder. They had managed to come to the compromise that Harry was allowed to cook breakfast for his family and do the odd afternoons baking for fun whilst the elves would cook lunch and dinner as well as doing the cleaning of their apartment.

Harry settled Lucian down with his brother and sister, three year old twins Max and Livia, in front of a DVD of some Disney film or other. With both Severus and Harry being half-bloods they had wanted to bring their children up with some knowledge of their heritage. Bearing that in mind, they had charmed a television, DVD player and music system to run off magick so that it could be used in their quarters. Harry’s friends had entreated him to move out of the dungeons when the couple had realised that they were expecting their first child and hadn’t understood why both Harry and Severus had refused. Severus had spent twenty years living in those quarters and they were home to him, much more than Spinner’s End, the house that his parents had left him. Harry, on the other hand, had spent sixteen years living in a house where the occupants had hated him, two years at The Burrow and had then moved straight into Severus’ quarters at Hogwarts. With the children settled, he turned his attention to breakfast and, by the time that Severus stepped out of the bedroom showered and dressed breakfast was already on the table.

When they finished breakfast, while Harry dressed the twins, Severus checked his ingredients lists and wrote down the items that he wanted Harry to collect for him. It was his intention to get all of his brewing completed whilst Harry and the children were in Diagon Alley so that he could spend as much time as possible with his family. He had managed to keep on top of his paperwork during the year so he had none of that to complete and his lesson plans were all in order until the end of the summer term so he could leave the alterations until the summer. He was one of the few teachers who changed their lesson plans each year. He was rather proud of the fact that he always kept up with the latest developments in potions brewing. He had to, as he often brewed potions for high profile clients that were willing to pay the earth for what they wanted.

Having checked his ingredients and written the list, he moved back into the living room where Lucian was waiting, his favourite book in his hand. Severus smiled at the sight; their eldest son was a voracious reader, much more like Severus as a child although Harry was much more inclined to pick up a book for fun now than he had been as a student during his earlier years at Hogwarts. The little boy squealed in delight as Severus scooped him up into his arms before sitting down in his favourite armchair, Lucian in his lap. Both Harry and Severus had been worried when Lucian had been born as to whether they would be able to show him the affection that he would need. Even though Harry had been adopted by the Weasley’s and showered with affection whilst there, he had still spent sixteen years living at the Dursley’s and suffered because of it. Severus had also suffered at the hands of his father, particularly after the death of his mother. As a result, they had both been less developed emotionally and were unused to showing their affection. Thankfully, their relationship changed all of that and, both men were now very comfortable at giving hugs and kisses as well as telling each other and their children that they loved them. Severus spent several minutes reading Lucian’s book with him until Harry reappeared with Max and Livia, both of whom were now suitably dressed for the still cold weather. Severus helped Harry on with his winter cloak as Lucian managed to struggle into his, before kissing each member of his family.

Harry hummed happily as he accepted Severus’ kiss. “We’re not going to be really late back. It’s just lunch with Hermione and then I have a few errands that I need to run in the Alley other than getting your ingredients.”

Severus nodded. “That’s fine. I’m going to be brewing all day anyway; I want to get all of the hospital wing potions done. You just take your time. Kids, I want you all to be on your best behaviour for your daddy. I don’t want to hear anything about you causing trouble. Okay?”

“Okay papa.” Came the chorus of voices.

Severus smiled and accepted kisses on the cheeks from the twins and Lucian as well as a lingering kiss on the lips from his spouse before he waved them through the floo and blissful silence reigned.

***

When Harry arrived at the Leaky Cauldron with Lucian, Max and Livia in tow, he noticed that he wasn’t just going to be joined by Hermione and her three daughters. Waiting with the curly-haired witch were Fleur Delacour and Nymphadora Tonks-Weasley. The duo had married the eldest Weasley brothers and whilst Dora had joined her surname with her married name, Fleur had been adamant about keeping her maiden name for her work at least.

Harry smiled happily. “Fleur! Dora! I didn’t realise that you were going to be joining us. Where are Victoire and Teddy?”

The two witches both had children that were the same age, eight years old, and Dora was five months pregnant with her and Charlie’s second child. The blonde French beauty smiled as she kissed Harry affectionately on the cheek before greeting his children.

“They’re with their Uncles Fred and George. I swear; it is their aim in life to become their precious idols. I don’t know!”

Harry just laughed. The Weasley twins had become hugely successful in the past few years and Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes had completely taken off. Fred and George were completely engrossed in their business, having bought out Zonko’s joke shop and were the only members of the Weasley family other than Ginny not involved in a relationship. Victoire Weasley and Teddy Tonks-Weasley were completely and utterly in love with their prankster uncles and spent every waking hour that they could with them. 

As their children played happily together Harry spoke quietly with the three older witches, careful to ensure that none of the children overheard the conversation. “I’m actually really pleased that you and Fleur are here Dora. I know it’s cheeky but could I ask a favour?” He breathed a sigh of relief as the two witches nodded their heads, both looking curious. “I have an appointment with Poppy Pomfrey after lunch. I need her to confirm a suspicion for me and I would appreciate Hermione’s support. Is there any chance that you can keep an eye on the children for half an hour maximum?”

Dora nodded her head immediately. “Of course we can Harry. Is everything okay?”

Fleur looked at the dark-haired wizard speculatively. “You’re pregnant again aren’t you? You’re a healer yourself; this is probably one of the few things that you would want a second opinion on.”

Harry nodded, his hands automatically going to his stomach. “I think so. I’ve been throwing up every morning and nauseous the rest of the time. I’m exhausted all the time and my hormones are playing havoc with me.” He then blushed as he whispered the next thing. “Plus, I’m horny all the time…..Not that Sev minds.”

He blushed even brighter as Dora wolf-whistled and the two other witches applauded loudly, drawing the attention of their children and the other patrons of the Leaky Cauldron. He swatted at Hermione who was sat closest to him and accepted Livia onto his lap. “Come on guys, you’re awful. Let’s go and get some lunch. Kids, come on, we’re going!”

***

Harry smiled and hugged Poppy Pomfrey enthusiastically as he and Hermione were shown into the office of his mentor. Harry had spent two years serving an apprenticeship under her once he had graduated from Hogwarts. He had spent his NEWT years taking modules that would help him with becoming a healer, having to take up Ancient Runes as the subject could help with some random diseases and problems. Following his graduation he had also taken a Muggle correspondence course in Psychology, gaining his degree so that he could help students with any problems they may have. 

Harry once again cradled his stomach, having received the test results from his mentor. “You’re positive? I’m definitely pregnant?”

The medi-witch nodded. “Yes Harry, you’re definitely pregnant. Were you and Severus trying for another baby?”

Harry shook his head immediately. “No. We weren’t trying for another one. Then again, we didn’t have to try with the others either. I was just suddenly pregnant. At least there won’t be a big gap between any of their ages. Now I just have to tell Severus.”

Both witches grimaced. “How do you think he’ll take it?”

Harry laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair. “I have no idea. He loved the fact that I was pregnant before. He’d never considered the possibility of having kids due to Voldemort and then we never considered the possibility of having kids without me having to take a potion or something. He’s a wonderful father though – I couldn’t ask for a better husband or a better father to my kids. It’s just, we have three already, how is he going to feel about a fourth?”

The two witches exchanged glances although it was Poppy who spoke. “I think you already know the answer to that Harry. I’ve never seen him as happy as he is with you and the children. Like you said, to everyone’s surprise, he’s taken to being a father like a duck to water. I think it’s safe to say that he’ll be over the moon to be a papa again.”

Harry smiled happily. “You’re right of course Poppy. Thank you. I’ll tell him when we get home tonight. As long as the children don’t tell him first; Lucian caught me being sick and I had to make him promise not to tell Severus but there’s no telling as to whether he’ll actually listen to me.” He shook his head and stood up, pulling his best friend with him. “Come on Mione. We need to go and rescue Fleur and Dora from our troublemakers and then I’m afraid you’re going to have to go to the apothecary for me. Sev wants me to pick up a load of ingredients for him but my stomach can’t cope with the combination of smells.”

Hermione nodded and wrapped her cloak around her shoulders. She smiled at the witch sympathetically. “Harry has a point. His children are normally perfect angels. I think they have more of Severus’ personality traits than Harry’s. Unfortunately, my children seem to have taken after my husband. Elizabeth, Jennifer and Katharine are all complete and utter hellions. I have no doubt that Fleur and Dora will be begging for release.” She smiled at Harry. “I’ll wait outside for you.”

Harry nodded and waited until she had left the room before turning to his old mentor. He sent the older witch a heart-stopping grin before wrapping her up in a huge hug. “Thanks Poppy. I knew truly but I wanted a second opinion and you’re the only person I really trust. I have the feeling that we’ll be having a celebratory dinner fairly soon. Or at least I hope so! Besides, you need to come and see your godson more often!”

The mediwitch laughed and wrapped Harry in a hug back and kissed him on the cheek before swatting him lightly on the bum. “It was no problem Harry and you know it. I always have time for you. Now, go collect your children, get those ingredients and then go and tell your husband your good news.”


	3. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE**

Severus glanced up at the clock as he finished the batch of anti-nausea draughts he’d just completed for his husbands stocks in the hospital wing. Thankfully, his young husband had taken their three children with him for the day else Severus wouldn’t have been able to make the amount of potions he had done that day. Since the birth of Lucian five years ago Severus had spent several incredibly long days during the holidays completing all of his paperwork and brewing so that he had the rest of the time to relax with his family.

Even now, over seven years since they married, Severus was still amazed that he had managed to ensnare the hero of the wizarding world. They had fallen in love and started a relationship when Harry was sixteen and old enough that their relationship was no longer seen as a crime. They had married two years later when Harry had graduated from Hogwarts and had been together ever since. As soon as Harry received his license to practise as a healer he had taken over from Poppy Pomfrey and started running the hospital wing at Hogwarts. This had enabled the older witch to open her own practise in Diagon Alley, specialising in gynaecology.

He had never imagined that he would be lucky enough to end up married and with three children. He had never imagined that he would find somebody to love him and the gifts that Harry had given him were truly priceless. He loved his husband and his children dearly and he knew that they had changed him for the better. He was no longer as surly as he had been and whilst he was still known, surprisingly enough alongside Remus Lupin, for being one of the harshest taskmasters in the school he was no longer completely biased towards his beloved Slytherins. There was another place where he had been surprised. He had expected uproar from within Slytherin House when he announced his relationship with Harry but had been pleasantly surprised when the majority of them had adopted him as an honorary Slytherin without question. He had later discovered that very few Slytherins had wanted to follow in their parent’s footsteps and become minions of Voldemort. Harry had saved them from that, something for which they were eternally grateful. Harry’s position within Slytherin had been further cemented when he became Poppy’s apprentice and later the official Hogwarts healer, something helped by his willingness to help coach the Slytherin quidditch team. His three children had been adopted by his house and they always had a ready team of babysitter’s on hand in case he and Harry wanted to spend some private time with each other. Smirking to himself, he allowed himself to drift off into pleasant memories of the last ‘private time’ they had indulged in.

***  
Coming out of his fantasies he realised that dinner was about to be served in the Great Hall and from the silence in their rooms, it was apparent that Harry and the children hadn’t returned yet and would most likely gravitate straight towards the Great Hall. The children would be starving by now. Taking off his dragon-hide apron he absent-mindedly checked his appearance in the mirror before he moved out of their quarters and out of the dungeons, up towards the Great Hall.

Severus smirked as he heard the sound of light, running footsteps moving towards the Great Hall and towards him as he made his way out of the dungeon. Keeping close to the shadows he reached out and snatched the child as it ran past, holding it close to his chest. The child wriggled and squirmed until it could see who was holding him and then squealed loudly.

“Papa!”

“Indeed. Now, what are you doing running around the castle by yourself? What have your daddy and I told you about being careful and only going around the castle with an adult? It’s too dangerous with the moving staircases and missing steps. What would you do if something happened?”

“I know Papa, but Daddy’s being really slow and Luc’s talking about something really boring.” The little boy pouted. 

Severus chuckled. He couldn’t help it but Max was the spitting image of his daddy; longish jet black hair but with Severus’ cheekbones and his daddy’s emerald green eyes. At the sound of his papa laughing Max threw his arms around Severus’ neck and rested his head on the broad shoulder, eyes looking back to where he had just come from. Sure enough, there were three figures approaching. 

Severus swung round as he heard more footsteps and saw his husband approaching with their other two children. Harry carried three year old Livia, Max’s twin sister, on one hip whilst their five year old son Lucian held Harry’s free hand and walked at his side, chattering on about something or other. Severus couldn’t help but smile at the sight, although it soon faded upon seeing how exhausted Harry looked. He didn’t remember him looking so tired this morning when he had left for Diagon Alley to collect the ingredients and meet Hermione Granger-Weasley and her children for lunch.

“Harry, are you alright love? You look exhausted.” The words were filled with concern.

“Daddy’s been sick,” piped up Lucian as Harry groaned.

“We weren’t supposed to tell Papa that Luc, do you remember?” Harry chided gently before he turned to reassure his older husband. “Severus, I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Severus managed to control his temper before he made a sarcastic comment but it was a close run thing and he couldn’t help some snark creeping into his voice. “You’re throwing up but it’s nothing to be worried about? Would you like to explain that reasoning to me?”

Harry’s eyes flashed. “Just who is the healer here Severus Snape? It’s not a virus or anything, in fact, judging from the last two times the sickness will be gone in a few weeks anyway.”

As soon as Harry had finished talking Severus’ mind was working into overdrive and he very quickly hit upon what he assumed was the right answer. “The last two times? Do you mean you’re?” Not wanting to say the actual words his eyes flickered down to Harry’s stomach and back up to meet laughing emerald.

Harry nodded, smiling brightly until he was distracted by a five year old pulling on his arm. 

“Daddy, what are you and papa talking about? I’m confused!”

“What I’m trying to tell your papa is that I’m pregnant again, and you three are going to have a baby brother or sister in about seven months.”

Even though that was the conclusion that he’d arrived at, Severus couldn’t help himself and his jaw dropped. Harry was pregnant. Again. With Severus’ fourth child. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was. They had discovered when Harry became pregnant with Lucian that male pregnancies that occurred without the use of spells or potions were only possible if the two males in question were soul-mates. Even if they were soul-mates, it was unlikely that they would be able to conceive naturally more than once without the help of magickal methods and especially not to have more than one child. Yet again, Harry had managed to do the impossible and conceived three times naturally and in one of those pregnancies, given birth to twins. Of course Remus had also managed to give birth to twins without the aid of a potion but that was down to his lycan physiology. Ignoring the fact that they were both holding three year olds, Severus swooped in and kissed Harry hard on the mouth. His black eyes were distinctly moist as he pulled away and looked at Harry. 

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you or this but whatever it was, thank Merlin I did it. Come on, we’re going to be late for dinner. We need to make sure that you’re eating properly.”

Harry smiled at the fact that Severus was already starting to fuss over him and he was only two months pregnant. Severus wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulders, squashing Livia in between them slightly and the family walked into the Great Hall, all overjoyed at the news they had just received. 

As the family entered the room, the sight brought a smile to many faces already seated at the staff table. Many of them did not think that they would ever see Severus Snape looking so domesticated and, for that matter, so happy. It was common knowledge that the potions master would do anything for the husband and children that he adored and many of the professors had to admit that the family were stunning when they were together. 

Since he had let Harry into his life, Severus had made more of an effort with his appearance and as a result was no longer sallow-skinned, his hair was no longer greasy and without the stress of spying he had put on weight. The same, to an extent, applied to Harry. Since his sixteenth birthday and since gaining his majority he hadn’t had to return to his aunt and uncle’s and so had gained some weight and had a growth spurt that put him at a more respectable height. He had gotten rid of his glasses upon realising that they were a hazard during a battle and allowed his hair to grow down to his shoulders which helped to remove the messy look. As a couple the pair looked everything that they were; rich, powerful, stunning and completely in love with each other. They were even more stunning when they were with their three children. 

Five year old Lucian Alexander Severus was the spitting image of his papa but with his daddy’s more rounded face. Straight black hair went down to his shoulders and framed a face that was dominated by huge coal-black eyes – the same as Severus. It was also clear, even at his young age that he was going to take after his papa in height as well. The three year old twins were fraternal and both of them took after their daddy. Maximilian Cassius Leontis and Livia Amata Speranza both had their daddy’s emerald green eyes and messy black hair although Livia’s had turned into gorgeous ringlets and both had their papa’s high cheekbones. Both Severus and Harry were already rueing the day when Livia started to date; Severus was already planning which body parts could be used in potions.

As it was a summer holiday there weren’t many teachers there; Albus Dumbledore, still the Headmaster despite everything that had happened, Filius Flitwick as Head of Ravenclaw, Severus as Head of Slytherin, Susan Bones as Head of Hufflepuff replacing Pomona Sprout and Remus Lupin as Head of Gryffindor replacing Minerva McGonagall. Both Pomona and Minerva had been killed during the Battle for Hogwarts along with many others and their positions had been filled by others when Hogwarts had re-opened. Also there for the summer were Neville Longbottom, husband of Susan Bones, and the Herbology teacher and Sirius Black, who had taken over teaching Astronomy from Professor Sinistra. Susan teaching a new Hogwarts subject on the Wizarding world to help Muggle-born students acclimatise to Hogwarts whilst Remus was back teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. Remus and Sirius were joined by their twin sons, and Severus and Harry’s godsons, nine year old Orion and Rigel, both of whom had Sirius’ black hair but Remus’ golden amber eyes. 

Orion and Rigel were the perfect mix of Remus and Sirius, not just in their looks but in their temperament as well. Orion was the more studious of the two, taking after Remus in his delight of literature and spellwork whilst Rigel was the prankster of the two. Both boys absolutely adored their younger cousins as they referred to Harry and Severus’ children, even though they regarded Harry as their big brother. The two of them were becoming more and more eager each year as they grew closer to the age when they would be able to attend Hogwarts properly, as students. They weren’t convinced that they wanted their parents as teachers seeing as they wouldn’t be able to escape their lessons but they were satisfied that they would have the advantage over their peers having grown up within Hogwarts and knowing every inch of it backwards and blindfolded.

The Snape’s moved over to the table, settling the children down and taking a seat next to the Lupin-Black’s. As at Christmas, when there were only the teachers inhabiting the school, the House tables and the Head table were removed, leaving just one large round table large enough to seat all of the occupants in the centre of the room. It made it possible for Harry to sit with his god-fathers; during term time it was impossible as Severus and Remus sat on opposite ends of the table to keep an eye on their respective houses.

As Harry took his seat next to Remus having seated his children first he blushed brightly when he noticed the werewolf subtly sniffing the air. The two black-haired wizards looked confused at the interaction between their husbands before Severus grinned. It would appear that their news wouldn’t stay a secret for long. Sirius smiled knowingly; there were only a few things that would cause Remus to scent the air like that and he just couldn’t resist teasing his godson and his former rival.

“So, Harry, Severus, is there anything that you want to tell us?”

His question caught the attention of the entire table causing Harry to blush even brighter, Severus to scowl and the Snape children to start giggling. When neither man looked like they were going to answer the question, Lucian piped up with their big news.

“Daddy’s going to have another baby. He’s pre-pre .... pregnant!” He grinned triumphantly at his achievement as the Great Hall descended into silence.”


	4. Chapter Four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

The news of their fourth child had been taken well, even by Sirius once he had recovered from his fainting fit. The Astronomy professor’s sons had been highly amused and even now, five months down the line, they were still teasing him about it. Severus and Harry’s children were highly delighted about their new sibling and Livia was even more delighted once they had discovered that they were expecting another little girl. She had been feeling outnumbered by the boys and was very pleased that she would be gaining an ally. They had discovered it two months ago and Harry had been delighted. Secretly, so had Severus. As much as he loved his boys, he adored having a little girl to spoil and was looking forward to another.

_***FLASHBACK***_

_The two Snape’s had left their three children with Grampa Remus and Grampa Sirius as well as their cousins Orion and Rigel and the promise that they were all going to Hogsmeade for the day. All of the children had been saving their pocket money so that they could buy a present for the new baby and Sirius and Remus had offered to take them shopping and for a picnic whilst Harry and Severus made the trip to Diagon Alley in order to see Poppy Pomfrey._

_Severus had always insisted on being involved in every aspect of Harry’s pregnancies, so as with the last two, all of the appointments with Poppy had been made for a weekend and the Potions Master had restrained himself from assigning detentions to his infuriating students. After the appointment, Severus had every intention of indulging Harry and taking him for lunch to one of his favourite restaurants followed by an afternoon’s shopping at a baby shop that had been recommended to them by Narcissa when Harry was pregnant with Lucian._

_They walked into the offices that Poppy had bought in Diagon Alley and were immediately shown through into the medi-witch’s examination room. The witch in question greeted both men effusively and Severus bore it with barely-disguised sufferance. He had mellowed somewhat but he was still incredibly leery of accepting affection from anybody other than his husband and his children, even from someone like Poppy whom he had known since he was eleven years old. She was the only woman that he would trust with his husband and his children and he knew that this feeling was shared by Sirius Lupin-Black._

_Harry took his place on the padded, raised bed as Severus took the seat next to him, taking hold of Harry’s hands. Swiftly but carefully, Poppy started casting the charms to ensure that everything was going smoothly. A self-inking quill took down the necessary details on a floating piece of parchment. The two men sat patiently as the medi-witch checked Harry’s weight, the position of the baby, the level of nutrients etc in Harry’s blood and that the baby was healthy. Finally, she looked up with a small smile._

_“Well, the baby is healthy and everything looks good but I am worried about you Harry. You’re not eating enough and you don’t have enough vitamins and nutrients in your body; the pregnancy is going to start sapping your strength and your magick. The baby will draw on you in order to sustain itself with no regard for you. None of us want to see that happen. You need to start eating more and resting more. If I’m correct, the quidditch season is almost at an end and so there won’t be any injuries. Everybody should be so involved with exams that hopefully things will be easier in the hospital wing. Don’t feel that you need to continue without help. I’m sure Molly will be more than happy to help – all you have to do is ask her._

_Now, you’re far enough along to find out the sex. Do you want to know whether you’re having a boy or a girl?”_

_Harry grinned ruefully. “We don’t really mind whether it’s a boy or a girl, the children are a different matter. Livia wants a baby sister, the boys would quite like a baby brother and even though Severus hasn’t said anything I think he’s hankering after another little girl to spoil.” He squeaked as Severus’ response came in the form of a poke in the ribs._

_Poppy flicked her wand in yet another charm and grinned at the results in front of her. “It looks like the boys are both going to be disappointed whilst Livia and Severus get their own way. You’re having another baby girl.”_

_The two men exchanged pleased grins before they tuned back in to what the medi-witch was saying. “Go on then, get out of here and go and have some lunch somewhere. Severus, you need to start making sure that he eats and rests properly.”_

_The two men thanked the woman profusely as they made a quick exit, not wanting yet another lecture seeing as Severus had absolutely every intention of spoiling Harry rotten._

_***_

_That evening, the two of them had sat down in front of the fireplace with several books of baby-names and discussed what they wanted to call the children. It hadn’t been a long discussion and both men had been pleased by the lack of stress involved. They had decided to go with something in a similar style to those of the other children and eventually came up with a combination of names that both men were happy with. In five months, they would be joined by the newest Snape, Andrina Isabella Juliet._

_***END FLASHBACK***_

Now seven months pregnant, Harry was struggling more with this third pregnancy and Severus was really starting to worry about his husband. In the previous two pregnancies Harry had barely had any problems and had simply sailed through the nine months. This time round, he was noticeably struggling and Severus was trying desperately to keep a lid on his worries. He had had several floo conversations with his mother-in-law Molly Weasley and also with Harry’s medi-witch Poppy Pomfrey. Neither had been particularly helpful, saying that Harry was incredibly lucky in that his two previous pregnancies had been so smooth and hassle-free. It was incredibly rare in witches to have stress-free pregnancies let alone for wizards. Poppy had reminded the Potions Master of Remus’ pregnancy which had been fraught with difficulty all along, his age and the strains of a lifetime of lycanthropy had taken its toll on his body and carrying twins had made it that much worse. Harry’s pregnancy with Max and Livia had coasted along in contrast.

Harry’s appetite had been affected by morning sickness for the first two trimesters and both Severus and Poppy were worried by the lack of interest Harry had shown in eating even now and lack of weight he was carrying despite the baby bump. The lack of appetite had increased Harry’s exhaustion and he was struggling to cope with the pregnancy, three children aged five and under as well as his job as medi-wizard/counsellor for the entire school. As a result, Severus had extracted a promise from his husband that this would be their last child. He had expected Harry to throw a fit and refuse to agree but to Severus’ amazement he had fully agreed with the Potions Master thanks to Remus and Sirius’ intervention.

_***FLASHBACK***_

_Severus made his way into the Great Hall and up to the staff table after an exhausting day of OWL and NEWT potions classes. The Ravenclaws were already starting to stress about their exams even though they were still several months away and high-level classes with Gryffindors and Slytherins were always stressful anyway. He took his regular seat only to notice that the seat next to him was already taken by Sirius Lupin-Black. He blinked in surprise. Out of all of the staff, it was only the four heads of house who had permanent seats in a position so that they could view their house as they ate. Out of the other members of staff, only Harry and Sirius had permanent seats next to their spouses. It was this that Severus was confused by; Sirius was in Harry’s seat and the astronomy professor’s husband wasn’t present._

_“Sirius? Why are you sat in Harry’s seat? For that matter, where is my husband and where is yours? Is something wrong with the children?” He started to panic as it took the other professor a while to talk._

_Sirius grimaced, obviously not wanting to be the bearer of bad tidings. “Don’t panic, it’s nothing disastrous. Harry and the children are with Remy and the twins. Harry’s absolutely exhausted and the children were worried about him. Remy was going to make sure that all of them ate something and then you can collect them after dinner. Harry’s been asleep all afternoon; this pregnancy is really taking it out of him. Have you spoken to him about it?”_

_As they spoke, Severus marvelled at the progress their relationship had made before he answered the canine animagus. “We haven’t had the discussion yet but I’ve made up my mind. I don’t want Harry having anymore children after this one. Four is more than enough. As much as I love the children and I really do, I don’t want to lose Harry. I couldn’t cope with losing Harry. There are precautions we can take to avoid anymore pregnancies.”_

_Sirius nodded. He had been in exactly the same situation with Remus following the birth of Orion and Rigel. As much as they had wanted to have more children they had come to the decision, or rather Sirius had come to the decision (and Harry agreed with him), that Remus was much too precious to risk for another child. They had two sons, three if they counted Harry, and three ‘grandchildren’ – that was more than they had ever hoped for._

_“As soon as you’ve eaten we’ll go to my quarters. Have the discussion with Harry there – maybe he’ll be more easily convinced if Remus and I are there.”_

_“Maybe you’re right. Let’s just get this over with.”_

_***END FLASHBACK***_

Severus just worried that the next two months were going to be too much of a strain on Harry in addition to the pregnancy. Albus had announced a month previously that they would be receiving a delegation of witches and wizards from the Australian Ministry of Magick. They were coming with the intention of setting up a possible exchange programme between Hogwarts and the Melbourne Academy of Magick. As senior members of staff, both Harry and Severus were expected to be there, Severus more than Harry in his capacity as Head of House and as a long-standing member of the teaching staff.

Severus was grateful for two things though; that Harry had finished his ‘nesting period’ and that his libido hadn’t diminished. Hogwarts had added another room to act as a nursery seeing as the old nursery was now the room shared by Max and Livia. All five of them had had great fun decorating the room and Harry had been thrown a baby shower at the Burrow not that long ago. As always, his family had been incredibly generous and he had received more than what he needed for the newborn. Everything had been painted buttercup yellow and white as with all of the other children. They didn’t want to go with the traditional and almost cliché colours of blue for a boy and pink for a girl whilst yellow was a nice neutral colour that was cheerful enough for a child. Harry had refused point-blank to have any black involved whatsoever. As with his previous pregnancies, Harry’s mum and family had thrown him a baby shower at the Burrow with everybody in attendance – men included. They had received more than enough gifts to equip the nursery and clothes enough to keep the newborn clad for the first couple of months seeing as Molly had gone into overdrive on the knitting-front.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the memories, Severus glanced up at the clock and realised with a start that it was gone 11pm. He had been writing his latest paper for the Potions Quarterly journal for the last five hours since he and Harry had put the twins to bed. Harry had brought Lucian in at 7pm so that he could say goodnight before being read his bedtime story. Normally, whilst Severus wrote his papers, Harry would come back and catch up with his own paperwork simply spending time together despite the fact that they were working. To Severus’ surprise, Harry hadn’t returned and he hadn’t seen or heard from him since.

Packing away his papers and checking that everything in his study was in order, he doused the fire and the lamps before he exited the room and locked the door behind him. Moving over to the bedrooms, he checked that the twins were still asleep, tucking the covers back around them and kissing their foreheads, before he moved onto Lucian’s bedroom. Here was his reason for his husband’s disappearance. Harry was fast asleep on the bed with Lucian curled up against him, head in the crook of Harry’s shoulder. The book that Harry had been reading lay on the bed still open at the page he had stopped reading at. Smiling to himself, Severus slowly moved Lucian away from his daddy so that he didn’t wake either of them and ensured that the little boy was tucked in properly and then, like with the twins, he pressed a kiss to his forehead. Then, just as carefully he scooped Harry up in his arms, a move that was no longer as easy as it was given the pregnancy. He manoeuvred out of the room and into their own, a flick of the wrist divesting both of them of their clothes before he laid Harry down in the huge four=poster bed and slid in after him, covering them both with the sheets.

As he pulled Harry closer, he couldn’t help but pray that both this pregnancy and the visit from the bloody Australian Ministry were over as quickly as possible. He wasn’t sure how much more either he or Harry could take.


	5. Chapter Five

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Lily and James Potter stood and stared up at the castle where they had spent seven years of their lives as teenagers. They had thought that they would never return to Hogwarts yet now they were back as part of the delegation from the Australian Ministry of Magick. In an ideal world they never would have returned but they hadn’t been given the option; they had to join the delegation. They had to admit that they were excited about the possibility of seeing their old best friends again.

What they weren’t looking forward to was explaining to Remus and Sirius that they weren’t actually dead. James and Lily Potter never died at the hand of Voldemort. The night that Voldemort attacked Godric’s Hollow, James and Lily weren’t there; they had taken a night off and gone into Muggle London polyjuiced as a random couple they had taken hairs from before undergoing the Fidelius charm (one couple out of many). The couple that had been killed by Voldemort had never existed; they were golems. The golems were created out of inanimate objects and could only be deactivated by the removal of a piece of paper within their mouths. The golems could be affected by magick and that was why they collapsed when Voldemort hit them with Avada Kedavra. Lily and James, the real Lily and James, arrived back in Godric’s Hollow just as the wards went off signalling that the Fidelius charm had been broken. They saw the destruction and automatically assumed that the golems had been destroyed and that Harry had been killed. Knowing that Dumbledore would soon arrive and assume them to be dead they saw no reason to stay in Godric’s Hollow and fled.

They fled to Australia, wanting to get as far away from England as possible. There, they started to work for the Ministry and eventually rose to high positions, James in the Auror Department and Lily in the Department of Education. Thus, when the Australian Minister for Magick arrived in Scotland to discuss the possibility of an exchange programme between Hogwarts and the Melbourne Academy of Magick they were included within the party. As they approached the main doors of the castle they saw the party of teachers waiting for them and in the midst of that group they saw the son they thought had died twenty-six years ago. Yet here he was, hand in hand with someone who looked very much like Severus and Snape and, by the looks of it, very pregnant!

As they drank in the sight of their son they barely noticed Albus stepping forward and speaking.

“Minister, ladies and gentlemen welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster and these are some of my most senior members of staff.”

****

By the time that the Australian contingent had been at Hogwarts for a fortnight, Remus and Sirius returned from their holiday with their two children. They had been visiting one of the Black summer properties in the south of France, near to Marseilles. The home was used by both the Lupin-Black’s and their children as well as the Malfoy’s. They had therefore missed the arrival of the Australians and were now about to walk into a minefield. They arrived just in time for dinner and walked into the Great Hall only for Remus to stop still and freeze completely, a look of shock on his face.

Orion tugged on Remus’ sleeve, causing Rigel to stop as well whilst Sirius didn’t notice and carried on walking towards the top table. “Daddy, what’s the matter? Dad, something’s wrong with Daddy.”

As they spoke, they didn’t realise that two of the Australian group had stiffened in shock at seeing their two old best friends with two children who were obviously their children. It was almost as though they didn’t know which was more of a shock; the son they had thought to be dead married to an old enemy, pregnant with three children or their two best friends, who they had never realised were in a relationship, married and with children.

Hearing Orion talk, Sirius spun round and frowned at the sight of his husband. “Remy? What’s the matter love?”

Remus reached out and gripped Sirius’ hand tightly. “I need you to transform into Padfoot and tell me what you can smell. I can smell James and Lily as though they were here. I know it doesn’t make sense as they’re dead but I can smell them. It’s nearly the full moon and my senses are at their strongest.”

Sirius blanched but agreed and quickly transformed into Padfoot. Pressing his nose close to the ground he headed for the table where everybody was seated and took his time, sniffing every single member of staff and guest. He quickly grasped the scent that Remus had picked up on and growled low in his throat and made his way back to his husband and children.

“The couple at the end of the table. It’s the brunette in the blue-green robes and the man in navy blue robes with brown hair and blue eyes. About as generic as you can get. There’s no disguising their scent, it’s the one thing that you can’t describe. Come on, let’s greet our other son and his family and then we’ll confront them.”

Remus bit his lip nervously. “Is that such a good idea? What about Harry? Surely it’s too much for him this close to his due date.”

“Better now than later love. He’s seven and a half months pregnant now. I don’t think we can leave it much longer. They need to explain Remy. If not to us, they need to explain to Harry why they left him to that life with those bloody Muggles.”

Being careful not to give anything away, the couple and their children walked up to the Snape’s, or rather Remus and Sirius walked, the children ran.

“Harry, Harry, Harry!! We had a brilliant time in France and we’ve brought you presents!”

Harry just laughed delightedly and hugged the two boys that he regarded as his little brothers as best as he could around his rather large baby bump.

“Did you bring presents for us as well Ori?” Lucian tugged on the sleeve of his older cousin.

Before he could receive a reply he was swept into Sirius’ arms. “Of course you’ve got presents as well kiddo. You didn’t think we’d forget our grandkids did you?”

Sirius greeted the twins and moved onto Severus while Remus kept Harry occupied. “Hello Severus. Having fun with the Australians?” He couldn’t hold back the snort of laughter at the Potion Master’s disgusted face. “We’ve got some big news. Keep a close eye on Harry.” All of this was muttered under his breath so that Harry wouldn’t hear and then he turned his attention to his beloved godson and son of his heart.

“Harry! My god, you get bigger every time I see you. You almost look as though you’re about to pop!”

Remus slapped his husband and held Harry a bit closer, as he pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Ignore him cub, you look absolutely gorgeous. I think you’re one of those infuriating people who manages to look stunning even when you’re about to go into labour, unlike myself who merely looked as though I’d swallowed several large melons.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Sirius cried loudly. “You looked incredibly sexy when I had you up the duff love.”

The teachers around the table laughed and Albus scolded them good-naturedly. “As entertaining as this is gentlemen, would you mind awfully taking your seats so that we could start our meal?”

Remus cleared his throat. “Actually Albus, there’s something that we want to say before we eat. I’m sorry about this Harry but James and Lily Potter are in this room at this very minute. I know it sounds ridiculous but this close to the full moon my senses at their peak. I can smell them very clearly as can Sirius.” He essentially glared at the Australian party. “I suggest that whichever of you are James and Lily you speak up now. We know who you are and you have an awful lot of explaining to do.”

Harry went snow-white and sat down abruptly in the seat that Remus shoved beneath him. Realising that something was wrong with their daddy, the three Snape children crowded around him. Livia clambered into his lap and snuggled in as best as she could around the bump, Max squeezed into the huge chair and nestled his head against his Daddy’s shoulder. Lucian stood by the side of the chair, one hand holding onto his Daddy’s and leaning back against his Papa’s legs. The old mask had taken over Severus’ face again; his eyes glittering with a cold fury. He could remember all too well the memories that he had seen whilst teaching his husband Occlumency and hated the fact that Harry’s birth parents had essentially abandoned him to that life. He looked behind him and up at his sandy-haired “father” – he still couldn’t believe how lucky he was to go from being an orphan to having adopted parents, two more “fathers” in Remus and Sirius, eight brothers, a sister, a husband and three wonderful children with another on the way. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that his birth parents were now apparently alive and at Hogwarts. He stared at Remus, desperately wanting for him to shout “Surprise!” or something similar but the lycan shook his head sadly.

“I’m sorry Harry.”

The two black-haired wizards glared at the group of Australian wizards, in the hope that being glared into submission would make the two they knew to be James and Lily stand up and identify themselves sooner. Both Remus and Sirius growled slightly, much like their nicknames and the two that they knew to be the Potter’s jumped slightly. Knowing that they weren’t going to escape, they stood up, drawing all attention to them.

“Harry, we .....”

The man in question had dislodged his children from his lap and stood up as they did. “I don’t believe it. I don’t ....”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Harry swayed where he stood before he just slumped to the floor, much to the distress of his family. Severus made a lunge towards him but couldn’t quite catch him in time before he hit the floor. Luckily, Filius was particularly quick with his wand (the advantage of being a former duelling champion) and managed to cast a cushioning charm on the ground to protect both Harry and his unborn baby. Severus hurriedly sank to his knees and checked Harry’s pulse and that he was still breathing. He sank back onto his heels in relief that Harry’s breathing was okay and that his pulse wasn’t too elevated but he wasn’t completely happy with the fact that he was showing no signs of coming round. He scooped his husband up into his arms and looked in the general direction of the group of teachers.

“Will somebody call Poppy Pomfrey at her practise? She’s Harry’s healer and I would feel much happier if she would check him over. Can somebody also call Molly and ask her to come through?”

Susan nodded and hurried over to the fireplace, throwing the floo powder in and sticking her head into the flames. As she did so, Remus and Sirius hurried over to check Harry for themselves. Satisfied that they were still breathing, Remus turned his attention to the children whilst Sirius prevented the former Mr and Mrs Potter from following Severus, much to James’ annoyance.

“Sirius, what the hell do you think you’re doing? That’s our son that’s just taken ill.”

“Yes, of course, your son. That would be the son that you left twenty-five years ago to be the hero of the wizarding world and essentially abandoned. Of course I’m going to let you go with him. Besides, if you hadn’t already realised, you’re not his husband’s favourite couple. If anything happens to this baby then it is going to be your fault.” Sirius snarled, not in the least bit happy that his old best friends had returned.

Remus rested a hand on Sirius’ forearm, calming him slightly, before he turned to speak to James and Lily. “I think it’s probably best if you stay here with the rest of the teachers, don’t you? Orion, Rigel, come on, let’s go back to our rooms and we’ll take your cousins downstairs with us.” Remus scooped up Livia and saw that Orion had Max in his arms and Rigel had taken Lucian by the hand. With that in mind, Remus took Sirius by the arm and dragged him back to their rooms.

As the group walked away Lily and James heard Lucian talk to Remus.

“Grampa Remus? Is Daddy going to be alright?”

“Oh Luc, I’m sure he’s going to be fine. He’s got your papa, Aunty Poppy and Grandma looking after him. I’m sure that your papa will come and collect you tonight.”

Lily and James turned and just looked at each other. “Grandma? Who’s his grandma?”

“Never mind who his grandma is Lils. Did you not just hear Harry’s kids refer to Remus as grampa?”

* * *

**Authors Note: Here we go, two chapters for the price of one. I really hope that my explanation is vaguely comprehensible in this chapter. Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews ... I'm sorry if I haven't replied but I do really appreciate them all. As always, please read and review. Belle**


	6. Chapter Six

**CHAPTER SIX**

Almost an hour after he had collapsed in the Great Hall, Harry came round to realise that he was in the bed that he and Severus shared in the dungeon quarters. He craned his head to see Severus slumped in a chair at the side of the bed.

“Sev?”

Almost immediately the other dark-haired man jumped to his feet and leapt to the side of the bed. “Harry? Oh Merlin, you had me worried. You collapsed an hour ago in the Great Hall. How are you feeling?”

“Hmm, tired. I’m okay though.” Harry sat up slightly in the bed with the help of his husband. “Sev, how’s the baby? Did that really happen? Are Lily and James still alive?”

Severus nodded his head but looked a bit perplexed at the fact that Harry had referred to his parents as Lily and James, something that Harry caught onto fairly quickly. “Severus, they abandoned me to this life. They left me here to survive and fight Voldemort. They left me with the Dursley’s. They could have come back at any point but they didn’t. I don’t need them anymore. I have a new life now and I couldn’t be happier. I have a wonderful husband, three gorgeous children and another on the way, two god-fathers who act more like my dads, a mum and dad who tell me all the time that they love me and a multitude of siblings. I have everything I need. Sev, Andrina’s okay isn’t she? Nothing’s wrong with her?”

Severus sat on the bed and wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulders. “Andrina’s fine, there’s nothing to worry about. Poppy and Molly are worried about you though. They don’t want you doing too much for the next month. We’ve discussed it and Molly’s going to come to Hogwarts during the day and look after the children and help you in the infirmary.” Severus held up a hand as Harry started to protest. “Don’t argue. You and I both know that this pregnancy has been harder on you than the last two and I have no intention of losing you. I don’t want to take any risks. Please? Indulge me?”

Harry couldn’t help but cave in at his normally reserved husband’s plea. “Fine. Is mum still around?”

Severus nodded. “She’s still talking to Poppy. Do you want me to get her?”

“Yes please Sev. Then can you do me a favour? Can you go and get the children from Sirius and Remus? I want my whole family here tonight.”

Severus nodded and leaned over to kiss Harry briefly. “That I can do. I’ll send Molly in love.”

Within minutes of the older man leaving the room, the plump motherly red-haired matriarch of the Weasley family bustled into the room. “Harry! How are you feeling dear? Severus said you wanted to talk to me.”

As the woman talked she had crossed the room and swept her youngest son into a warm but gentle hug.

“Hi mum. I’m feeling fine, just really tired. I don’t know why but I’ve just found this pregnancy harder than the last two. Apparently Andrina’s going to be okay though which is the important thing.”

“Andrina?” The older woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry smiled. “That’s what we’ve decided to call her. Andrina Isabella Juliet Snape. Sev said that you’d agreed to come to Hogwarts and look after the children and I’m assuming me during the days. Is that right?”

Molly nodded as she sat on the edge of the bed and fiddled with Harry’s hair, smoothing it out of his face, as well as tucking the blankets around him more firmly as well as generally being motherly. “That’s right Harry. Severus is worried about you. Andrina isn’t the only important thing you know. You’re just as important if not more important. It’s no problem for me to come and look after the children. You’ve only got a month left and Poppy isn’t going to let you go over your due date with the struggles that you’ve been having. Now, I’ll be back here tomorrow to help you out. Is there anything that you need before I go?”

Harry smiled and shook his head. “No thanks.”

With that, Molly turned and was about to leave the room when Harry reached out and pulled her back to the bed. As soon as she was back within reach Harry leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Seriously, thank you mum. I don’t know what I could do without you.”

Molly blushed bright red and swatted him lightly over the head. “Oh hush you. Now, you just lie back until that husband of yours comes back with your children.”

Harry quite happily did as she asked. For all his protests he knew that his mum, husband and Poppy were right and that he did need to take it easy for the remainder of his pregnancy. He had found this one harder than the last two, even harder than when he was carrying the twins, and no-one really had an answer as to why. He knew that he needed to deal with the fact that his birth parents weren’t actually dead like he had been led to believe for the entirety of his life but he simply couldn’t summon the energy to do so. Instead, he simply focused on retaining the energy to stay awake until his husband arrived back with their children.

***

Whilst Harry was talking to his adoptive mother, Severus made his way upstairs to the rooms shared by Remus and Sirius. He knocked on the door and it swung open to reveal his three children, all waiting eagerly for his appearance. Livia flung herself at him chanting “Papa, papa, papa!”

Severus smiled and scooped her up to balance on his hip whilst he hugged the other two closer. “Hello, you three. Are you ready to go back to our rooms? Daddy wants to see you.” He smiled at Sirius and Remus. “Thank you for taking them. Harry and the baby are okay – he just needs rest. Molly’s agreed to come and help him during the day. If you want to come down in the morning he’d love to see you. I think he’ll probably need all the help he can get. Come on children, let’s go and see Daddy.”

With that, Severus took Max by the hand and saw Lucian take Max’s other hand and led the three of them back down to the dungeons. Walking into their rooms, he sent the children into their rooms in order to change into their pyjamas before going into the room that their parents shared. Eager to see for themselves that their beloved daddy was okay they changed into their pyjamas as quickly as possible and flung themselves towards the door of their parents room. Once at the door they paused, not wanting to run in and disturb their parents. They could hear someone moving around inside and the soft voice of their papa. The twins looked at Lucian expectantly and he rolled his eyes before he stuck his head round the doorframe.

His parents were sat on the bed and talking quietly to each other and hadn’t noticed his appearance, so he called out quietly to them.

“Papa?”

Harry looked up and smiled at the children and simply held his arms open. The three Snape’s didn’t bother wasting any time and ran for the bed. Lucian was able to scramble up the covers by himself but Max and Livia had to wait for Severus to help them. Once on the bed, they settled around their parents, Max claiming Severus’ lap as Livia claimed Harry’s in order to be closer to the baby. With both laps claimed, Lucian settled in between both of his parents, simply happy that Daddy was awake and looking healthy.

Livia patted Harry’s baby bump, squealing happily as Andrina kicked at her gentle hand whilst Lucian leaned against Harry’s chest.

“Daddy? Are you and baby okay?” Lucian asked in a quiet voice. “Who were the man and lady in the Great Hall?”

Harry and Severus exchanged glances. They had known that their children were intelligent enough to realise that something was going on. They hadn’t hidden Harry’s life and history from the children and so they had no qualms about explaining things to them now. Severus held Max closer as Harry pressed a quick kiss to Lucian’s head and smoothed a hand over Livia’s black curls.

“Baby is fine little one and so is Daddy. It was just a bit of a shock seeing those people in the Great Hall earlier. The man and the lady are Daddies first parents before Grandma and Grandad. They died, or we all thought they had died when Daddy was a baby.”

“Why are they here then?” Lucian’s face scrunched up as he asked the pertinent question.

Harry sighed sadly. “I don’t know baby. I just don’t know.”


	7. Chapter 7

James and Lily were left in the dark for nearly two days as to what was truly going on with Harry. The Australian minister had been disgusted by their behaviour and had had them confined to the guest quarters that they had been given. As such, they had been unable to discover any information as to what had happened to their son. All they knew was that he was okay and so was the child that he carried. It was perhaps this that rankled the most with the Potter’s; they had grandchildren that they had never known. It was patently obvious which children were Harry’s and Severus’; the twins had Lily’s eyes whilst the eldest child had Severus’ obsidian orbs. They were also rather hurt by the fact that Remus and Sirius had obviously married and had changed; they were completely isolated from their former life and the friends who had been like family to them. At the same time they knew that it was their own fault. Finally, on the third day there was the opportunity for Lily to visit the library. She made straight for the archives from the Daily Prophet and also for the teachers information. The latter was rarely used as very few students knew about it but Lily had been Head Girl back in her Hogwarts days. She headed straight for Harry’s file and literally devoured all of the information in then, reading it over and over again until she knew every single detail that was available to her. She read about how Harry had killed Voldemort with the help of Severus and later married his former professor. How he was adopted by the Weasley’s. His marriage and subsequent pregnancies. His training at St. Mungo’s and how he returned to take over the Hogwarts infirmary when Poppy Pomfrey left. She was still reading when she was discovered by Remus Lupin-Black.

“Mrs Potter?”

Lily winced at the coldness of the Lycan’s voice. “There was a time when you used to call me Lils?”

Golden amber eyes flashed dangerously. “Yes, well. That was before you faked your own death and left my husband to rot in Azkaban for twelve years. TWELVE YEARS Lily. Do you have any idea how difficult that was for Sirius? How difficult it was for me? I lost my pack Lily. I had twelve years of Moony trying to tear me apart every single month and I wasn’t allowed any contact with Harry due to my little furry problem.”

He took a deep breath. “You know, this isn’t the right place for this. Siri’s gone to fetch your husband. We’ll discuss this in our rooms.”

As she walked into the rooms that her former friends shared with their children, she was struck by how homely they were. She had never visited Grimmauld Place where Sirius had grown up, but she had heard plenty of tales from her husband and from Sirius himself. This seemed to be the complete polar opposite. She was immediately drawn to one wall of the sitting room that was full of photographs, both wizarding and muggle. The first thing that she noticed was that there wasn’t a single photo of her or James there, the only one being a group photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix. The majority of the photos featured Harry, Severus, their children and Remus’ own children. She looked up as the door opened and Sirius entered with James. She was struck by how quiet it was and realised that the twins obviously weren’t there, which was unusual as it was a weekend.

“Where are your children? The twins? We didn’t catch their names. How old are they?”

Sirius growled, even as he came over and sat down, pulling Remus onto his lap. “You didn’t catch their names because we didn’t give them to you. Their name’s are Orion and Rigel and they are nine years old.”

“Did you adopt them? They look as if they could almost be your blood children.”

“That would be because they are our blood children. You’ve heard the legends; that soul mates can become pregnant. So it is with Harry as it was with us.”

James choked on his lungful of air. “Are you telling me that my son is soul-mates with Snivellus Snape?”

Sirius’ arm tightened around his husband’s waist. “Yes he is. We would both prefer it if you didn’t refer to Severus as that.”

James gave a bark of laughter. “Severus? Since when have you called Snape Severus? You always hated him as much as I did or have you forgotten the pranks that we used to pull.”

“No I haven’t forgotten them James but I have apologised for them. I’ve grown up. I had to grow up in Azkaban. After twelve years there wasn’t much point in holding onto old grudges; I had too much to live for. It is thanks to Severus’ training and help that Harry was able to defeat Voldemort. We have much to thank him for.”

Lily saw something in both men’s eyes that made her breath catch in her chest. “You hate us. You actually hate us. You don’t care that we’re alive.”

It was Remus who finally spoke, his tone of voice more than slightly bitter. “Why should we care? As I said before Mrs Potter, you left. You left all of us without a single thought. Surely even the news of Voldemort reached Australia. Or did you just ignore it?”

“No, news of Voldemort didn’t reach Australia. If it did, we paid it little attention as it was on the other side of the world. It was of no consequence to us. As far as we were aware, everything we knew and loved had been destroyed that night.”

“Not everything.” Remus’ voice was quiet. “You just visited Godric’s Hollow and assumed that Harry had been killed. You didn’t spare a second thought for Sirius and I; you just left. You don’t deserve to be part of our lives.”

Lily smiled sadly. “You won’t let us meet your children? Or Harry’s children? They are our grandchildren you know.”

“They are your grandchildren by blood only and even that claim has been reduced.” At the Potter’s confused look, Remus raised an eyebrow, looking distinctly like Severus. “Did you not get that far in your reading Mrs Potter? Harry was blood-adopted by the Weasley’s. They all but erased any claim that you and your husband have on our god-son. Not too long after his adoption he became a Snape. He has not been a Potter for almost a decade now. As for you meeting our children, no you will not meet them. They do not need you nor will they ever. Neither does Harry. He has parents, Sirius and I, seven brothers, one sister, four sisters-in-law, numerous nieces and nephews, two little brothers/cousins, a husband and four children of his own. Why should he need or want the parents who abandoned him to a life of abuse and neglect? We do not want any further contact with you and we would advise that you do not attempt to make any contact with Harry. We can tell you now that Severus will not be as kind as we have been.”

***

Sirius and Remus waited until the Potter’s had left their rooms before they hurriedly made their way down to the dungeons and the Snape’s rooms where their children were there. As soon as they entered, Orion and Rigel were in Remus’ arms. Although they didn’t inherit Remus’ lycanthropy they did inherit his enhanced senses and as such they could tell that there was something wrong with the man who had carried them within him for nine months. Remus didn’t say a word, he just sank into the sofa holding his sons closely to him and leaning into his husband as Sirius sat down next to him.

Harry, still ostensibly on bed-rest, had persuaded Severus to transfigure one of the armchairs into a chaise longue which was where he lay with Severus behind him and his children cuddled in around him. He looked behind him in concern at the behaviour his godfather’s were exhibiting.

“Siri? Remy? What’s the matter? Is everything okay?”

It was Sirius who spoke. “We’ve just had a bit of a confrontation with the Potter’s. We informed them that we didn’t want any contact with them.” He smiled reassuringly at the two men in front of them. “It was nothing to do with you. Well, it was partially to do with you but we’ve had more time without them then we ever did with them and if this was the way that they’ve behaved then we’re better off without them. We have a wonderful life that they are not a part of and we do not need them anymore. You just rest yourself and worry about that baby of yours. We’ve made our decision and it’s not your place to question it. You just need to trust that we’ve made the right decision. We love you Harry and you will always come first. Always.”


	8. Chapter 8

Harry was just finishing up some paperwork in the infirmary prior to going down into the Great Hall for dinner. Molly had taken the children back down to the dungeons to get them changed for dinner as tonight was one of the nights when they were allowed to eat at the head table with the parents, surrogate grandfathers and cousins. He was now two weeks overdue with Andrina and he was now desperate for her to make her appearance. Poppy Pomfrey was on permanent stand-by and had been for a month. He had stayed in the infirmary for a bit longer, choosing not to go down to the dungeons with Molly because he was desperate to get this last little bit of paperwork done before he was officially put on maternity leave. If he hadn’t started having contractions by the time the weekend started tomorrow then Poppy was going to operate anyway. If he was honest with himself, Harry knew that his labour had already started. He had been feeling the tell-tale signs for the last few hours but he had defiantly kept silent. He had just finished filing the documents he had finished with when he heard the tell-tale noise of the infirmary door opening and shutting behind someone. Not bothering to look up, he simply called out, assuming that it was his husband who had come looking for him.

“Sev? I’m almost finished. Just hang on a minute and then I’ll be ready to come down to dinner.”

He didn’t hear a response and turned around, stopping dead still as he saw that it wasn’t Severus stood there but Lily and James Potter. He had managed to successfully stay out of their way since their true identities had been revealed. He knew that there had been a rather fiery confrontation between James and Lily and Remus and Sirius. The Lupin-Black’s had been furious at the way that the Potter’s had treated their son and had refused to have any further contact with them.

Harry stood, ignoring the contraction that rippled across his stomach. They were starting to come more frequently now and he knew that he needed to contact to Poppy or Severus at the very least.  “Mr and Mrs Potter, to what do I owe the pleasure?” The scathing welcome would have done his husband proud. “I had been led to believe that my husband and godfathers had informed you that you were not to come into contact with me. Bearing that in mind, would you like to tell me why you’re in my infirmary?”

James opened his mouth and looked as though he were going to make some obnoxious comment but he was halted by a hand on his arm courtesy of Lily who spoke instead. “We just want to talk Harry. Surely you will allow us that?”

Harry frowned as he fought the urge to rub his stomach. “Why should I? You didn’t do me the courtesy of informing me that you were still alive. Instead, you left me to be brought up by your bitch of a sister and her obnoxious husband. Now, after being informed not to come near me, you have cornered me in my place of work.”

James snorted in disgust. “You know you sound more like Snivellus every time you speak. It’s disgusting. Why are you with him? He was a Death-Eater and he was at school with us; he’s old enough to be your father.”

Harry grimaced. “I’m married to him because I love him. Nothing else matters. Sirius and Remus have accepted me, why can’t you? On second thoughts, it doesn’t matter if you accept him or not; I have a family and you’re not part of it. I have parents, seven brothers, a sister and a whole slew of sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. I have two more honourary fathers, two little brothers/cousins, a husband, three children and a fourth ready to be born any minute. Tell my why your opinion should mean anything to me?”

In the middle of his ranting, Harry failed to notice that Remus had entered the room, his lycan senses telling him that something was wrong with his cub. Instead, Harry just continued talking.

“You know what. I don’t care what you think. You don’t mean anything to me. I used to wish that I could have you back but you haven’t changed from the teenagers that I’ve seen in pensieve memories; you still act like bigoted teenagers. Let me tell you one thing Mr and Mrs Potter, I don’t want you in my life and I don’t need you in my life. I have my husband and I will always choose him over you. Now, GET OUT OF MY INFIRMARY!”

Realising that they weren’t going to get anywhere, the pair left quickly at which point Remus hurried over to his pseudo-son.

“Harry? What’s going on? What’s the matter?”

Harry reached for Remus’ hand, grasping it in a vice-like grip as another contraction rippled across his stomach. “Contractions. Andrina’s coming. You need to floo Poppy and then you need to floo Severus; he’ll probably be in the Great Hall now. Hurry! I’ve been having them for a couple of hours now.”

“Oh cub, why didn’t you say anything?” Remus shook his head at the man’s independence as he moved to the fireplace in order to place the necessary floo calls. He flooed Poppy and then Severus before he placed a call to his own husband, telling him to get their children, meet Molly and bring Lucian, Max and Livia up to the hospital wing.

***

Once Poppy arrived, things seemed to progress incredibly quickly. As with the two previous pregnancies (and with Remus’), the baby was going to be delivered by caesarean section, Harry obviously not having the necessary equipment. There was a private room off the infirmary that had been set aside for the surgery should this have happened and they hadn’t had the time to make it to St. Mungo’s. As the other twice, the only person allowed in the room other than Poppy was Severus so Sirius, Remus and Molly made themselves comfortable in the main room of the infirmary, calling for some food from the kitchens so that the children could eat. They may be getting another sibling but that didn’t mean that they wanted to miss dinner.

It was an hour later when a tired but happy looking Severus walked out of the room with a white-wrapped bundle in his arms. His three children immediately flocked to him, climbing onto the bed either side of him so that they could see their newest sister.

“Children, I’d like you to meet Andrina Isabella Juliet Snape, your baby sister. Daddy’s going to be okay – he’s just a little tired. So why don’t you go in and say good night to him; you can see him properly tomorrow.”

With that, Severus brought his little girl over to show to her grandmother and grampa’s. They all cooed over her obligingly – the little girl had wisps of black hair and as she opened her eyes to blink at the strange people fawning over her they could see that she had her papa’s endless obsidian gaze.

Sirius smirked. “She’s going to be a heartbreaker just like her big sister. You’re going to have your hands full Severus.”

The Potions Master nodded ruefully. “I know but they’re worth every minute of it.”

*******

**Just over eight months later...**

Harry smiled at the sight of the back garden at the Burrow. As usual, Molly had outdone herself and the garden was beautifully decorated. Fairy lights had been strung up everywhere and they twinkled amongst the trees. A marquee had been set up with a table underneath it practically groaning beneath the weight of the food piled up on top of it. The place was almost overrun with the extended Weasley family and colleagues of Harry’s from Hogwarts. Four out of the six red-haired Weasley boys were married now and between them had eight children, Fred and George were still single and loving the bachelor lifestyle, Ginny had a new boyfriend but was still rather sullen around Harry and Severus. There was obviously Harry and Severus with their four children, Remus and Sirius with the twins, Molly and Arthur, Poppy Pomfrey, Albus Dumbledore, Filius Flitwick and finally Neville and (a very pregnant) Susan Longbottom with their young daughter. There was also Kingsley Shacklebolt with his wife Hestia Jones and children. All in all it was a very crowded if not a family affair. Harry was still reeling from the sizeable stack of presents hidden in one corner of the marquee, unused still to receiving presents simply for being him.

He smiled as strong arms wrapped around his waist and he leaned back into the broad chest of his husband. True to his word, Severus had ensured that after Andrina they would be unable to have any more children. Much like Sirius, he had been unwilling to put Harry through yet another pregnancy despite the wonderful final results. He looked over to the left where Andrina was being fussed over by her doting grandmother. It had been seven months since Lily and James Potter had returned back to Australia, admitting that they had destroyed any possibility of a relationship with their son. From what Harry understood, Severus had had a serious confrontation with them and shortly after it they had returned to Australia and hadn’t attempted to make contact ever since. A soft kiss was pressed to the nape of his neck and the healer hummed happily.

“Happy Birthday love.”

Harry tilted his head back in a silent request for a kiss and was granted it. The kiss was interrupted by three bodies slamming into Harry’s legs. Muffled grunts told them that Sirius and Remus had been similarly interrupted.

“What do you monsters want?” Severus raised an eyebrow in question but their children, having grown up with it, were immune to it. “Well?”

“Uncle Ron’s setting up a quidditch match and he wants to know if you and Daddy will play Papa?”

Severus raised an eyebrow at Ron who wasn’t quite as immune to it as the little Snape’s. “Oi, don’t look at me like that. I’ve seen the quidditch trophies at Hogwarts; you were a chaser on the Slytherin team. Just like I know that Sirius and Remus played on the Gryffindor team; Harry had no chance in not playing at Hogwarts. It looks like the twins were successful in persuading them to play. Come on, if you don’t play then I’m two players short for my team.”

In the end the teams that Ron had put together were rather impressive. Team 1 consisted of Harry, Fred, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Severus and Ron. The second team was made up of Charlie, George, Kingsley, Ginny, Fleur, Hestia and Bill. It was a closely run thing but in the end Harry just managed to catch the snitch literally from under Charlie’s nose.

Later that evening, as Molly was serving up the birthday cake with strawberries and ice-cream, Severus mused on the fact that he had never considered that his life would turn out like this. He had never entertained the notion that he would end up with a lover let alone a husband who was the son of his Hogwarts contemporaries. That he would end up with four children was a wonderful blessing as well as two friends in the shape of his former school rivals. They had weathered the storms that fate had thrown at them and he could hopefully now enjoy the rest of his life in peace with his beloved husband and children.


End file.
